CEO Richard Anderson told employees in a recorded message Thursday that airlines have done everything the government has asked since 9/11 to follow advanced passenger notification requirements and heightened screening measures.
He said that should have brought a better result than the peril those aboard the Christmas flight from Amsterdam to Detroit faced. Delta will insist Washington do a better job.
“Having this occur again is disappointing to all of us,” Anderson said. He added, “You can be certain we will make our points very clearly in Washington.”
According to authorities, a Nigerian man who said he was an agent for al-Qaida tried - - - - >

At the captains discretion, passengers can once again have blankets and other items on their laps or move about the cabin during the tail end of flight. In-flight entertainment restrictions have also been lifted.
The airline officials spoke on condition of anonymity because federal safety officials had not publicly announced the changes.
Security rules were relaxed in the last 24 hours, one official said.
Tougher airline security measures were imposed Friday after a man flying from Nigeria to Amsterdam then to the U.S. on a Northwest Airlines flight tried to ignite an explosive as the plane prepared to land in Detroit. On Sunday, - - - - >

A failed attack on a Northwest flight Christmas Day and another incident on the same flight Sunday may set travelers on edge, but investors Monday are expected to pay more attention to the big picture of airlines improving demand and prices.
Shares of airline stocks have climbed out of a recession-dug trough in the second half of 2009 as people began flying again and ticket prices edged up. By November, the volume of people flying was up 2 percent compared with a year ago, said Roger King, an analyst for CreditSights in New York.
King said he thinks those types of trends - - - - >

The Transportation Security Administration wouldnt say exactly what it was doing differently on Saturday. It didnt need to.
Passengers getting off flights from overseas reported being told that they couldnt get out of their seat for the last hour of their flight. Air Canada also said that during the last hour passengers wont be allowed access to carry-on baggage or to have any items on their laps.
The extra vigilance came after a man flying from Nigeria to Amsterdam to the U.S. tried to ignite a device just before the plane landed in Detroit on Friday. It compounded delays in a busy - - - - >

Airlines continued to adjust to the tough economy. There are even fewer planes in service, and that can make rebooking after a cancellation tougher. Higher bag fees and new charges can make flying more expensive. And swine flu worries mean you might get a wary look from the adjacent seat if you cough.
That can make this holiday seasons travel experience more trying - and costly - although technology offers some ways to avoid the hassle.
The number of air travelers is expected to fall 2.5 percent to 41 million between Dec. 17 and Jan. 6, according to the Air Transport Association. - - - - >

London High Court Judge Laura Cox invalidated a strike vote and prevented a 12-day walkout by the Unite union, representing 13,000 cabin crew members. The dispute centered on Walshs move to cut one attendant on each long-haul flight, and he was prepared to risk the carriers first labor stoppage in more than a decade rather than back down.
Walsh may not have the advantage for long if the union leadership pushes for another strike early in the new year. London-based British Airways, Europes third-biggest airline, is seeking - - - - >

Low yields and rising costs are a “continuing disaster” for world airlines, who have already lost $49 billion since 2000, according to the International Air Transport Association. The industry group maintained its estimate of $11 billion full-year losses for 2009.
“The worst is likely behind us,” said IATA chief executive Giovanni Bisignani. “Some key statistics are moving in the right direction. Demand will likely continue to improve and airlines are expected to drive down non-fuel unit costs.”
Still, he conceded that “airlines will remain firmly in the red in 2010.”
IATA attributed much of the pressure on the “extraordinarily low” yields airlines are - - - - >

United Airlines wasted no time in declaring that it will seek antitrust immunity for a joint venture with Continental Airlines Inc. and Japans All Nippon Airways in which the three would work together to set prices and flight schedules on trans-Pacific routes.
But the real drama concerns the next deal. Japan Airlines, that countrys largest carrier, is likely to seek antitrust immunity with Delta Air Lines Inc. or American Airlines, the two largest U.S. carriers.
Delta and American are already waging an unusually public fight over Japan Airlines. After Delta pledged $1 billion to prop up financially troubled JAL, American and its - - - - >

Americans chief financial officer, Tom Horton, told reporters that the offer is “far superior” to the $1 billion rival proposal from Delta Air Lines and its SkyTeam partners.
He refused to describe the composition of the offer, or say how much of the money would come from American. But he said the proposal by American, its oneworld partners and private equity firm TPG Inc. is part of a larger restructuring plan to get JAL back on solid footing.
Horton and his team asserted that if JAL enhances its links with American, over a 10-year period it would gain additional revenues of some - - - - >

Each carrier is crafting its own offer, which will then be sent to Japan Air and the Japanese government as one proposal, Oneworld managing partner John McCulloch said in an interview yesterday. JAL, as the airline is known, is also awaiting approval of a government bailout.
“There is a concerted, coordinated effort by the Oneworld carriers to put together a package of incentives,” McCulloch said. “The package is very much an effort to persuade them to stay.”
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